Law enforcement from across the state gathered Wednesday at Jackson State University for a public safety conference.

"We just can't sit back and sit idle and think that those things can't happen in the state of Mississippi, city of Jackson or Hinds County. This is a lesson for us to learn from and prepare for," said Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis.

With help from the FBI, local agencies are learning how to work together in order to respond to shootings in public places and mass killings, or attempted mass killings, in Mississippi.

"If it happened at Pearl, it can happen anywhere," said Madison County EOC Director Butch Hammack.

Officials said past shootings like the one in 1997 at Pearl High School, in which then 16-year-old Luke Woodham opened fire, killing two students and injuring seven others, and the 1996 shooting rampage by Kenneth Tornes at the Jackson Central Fire Station that killed four firefighters, show that Mississippi is not immune to crisis situations.

Jackson Police Department leaders said they are already making changes for large walks and runs held in the city.

"In terms of security being more vigilant, and looking for things that may have not crossed our minds as being a threat in the past," said Chief Rebecca Coleman. "We are more alert to what's going on with these different types of large-scale events that occur in our city."

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